Wednesday, December 23, 2015

The link between Tomb and Womb

In the life of the Orthodox
Church we can easily identify the link between the festivities. Such is also
the case between the Birth and Death of Christ. This relationship is evident
through the Byzantine hymnological tradition, for example we sing a similar
hymn in both festivities: Today he is Born of a Virgin…, Today He is hung…St
Ephrem wishes to show this relationship, to emphasise the link between the
virginal womb with the sealed tomb of Christ. Both of these declare the mystery
of the Risen Christ. St Ephrem proclaims:

‘By your resurrection you
convinced them about your birth, for the den was sealed and the grave was
secured – the pure one in the den and the living one in the grave. You
witnesses were the sealed den and the grave. The womb and Sheol shouted with
joy and cried out about your resurrection. The womb that was sealed conceived
you; Sheol that was secured, brought you forth. Against nature the womb
conceived and Sheol yielded. Sealed was the grave which they entrusted with
keeping the dead man. Virginal was the womb that no man knew. The virginal womb
and the sealed grave like trumpets for a deaf people, shouted in its ear.’[1]

Additionally, St Augustine also
comments on this link between Tomb and Womb, explaining: ‘He is believed to
have been conceived on 25 March, and also to have suffered on that day. Thus to
the new tomb he was buried in, where no mortal body was laid before or after,
there corresponds the womb he was conceived in, where no mortal body was sown
before or after.’[2]

About Me

I have studied Theology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Theology, International Relations at the University of London (Queen Mary). My Master's Thesis was published as a book: 'The Aegean Sea Dispute Between Greece and Turkey - The Consequences for NATO and the EU'. For more information see: http://www.akakia.net/el/the-aegean-sea-dispute-between-greece-and-turkey
I have also studied Byzantine Music in Athens and I am currently undertaking a research on the “Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius and its contribution towards Anglican – Orthodox Relations”, at the University of Winchester.
I also represent the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain at the A.E.C.A. If you wish to contact me you can email me: demetrifs1@yahoo.com